USB Soundcard Recommendations?

Hi. I am thinking of building a mini itx rig, but I will be devoting the only available expansion slot to a discrete gpu. I'm also an audio snob, so I was hoping someone might be able to tell me if there is a Creative USB product that may fit my needs. I've searched the products pages, but haven't been able to tell if there is one that checks all of my boxes. Specifically, I'm looking for the following:
1. Headphone amp and good dacs
2. At least an x-fi processor
3. EAX 5 support
4. Dolby Live/DTS Connect support
5. 7.1 spdif
6. Analog speaker out (separate from headphone amp)
Thanks!

_this USB mic_ is about as far below 100£ as you're going to get, and a large step above a simple headset mic.

Similar Messages

[SOLVED}_How can I configure ALSA to use usb-soundcard as default?

Hello,
I am trying to figure out how to configure ALSA correctly on my system. I have tried several times following those guides : ALSA_Arch_Wiki, ALSAProject_WIKI_Usb-audio and ALSAProject_hda-intel .
As I understand there are three main files for alsa-configuration. /etc/modprobe.d/file_name.conf, /etc/asound.conf, ~/.asoundrc . Right now I have tried this:
# This File is empty for NOW
pcm.usb-audio {
type hw
card 0
ctl.usb-audio {
type hw
card 0
pcm.softvol {
type softvol
slave {
pcm "dmix"
control {
name "Master"
card 0
pcm.!default {
type plug
slave.pcm "softvol"
pcm.hda-intel {
type hw
card 1
ctl.hda-intel {
type hw
card 1
pcm.softvol {
type softvol
slave {
pcm "dmix"
control {
name "Master"
card 1
pcm.!default {
type plug
slave.pcm "softvol"
But after second reboot My built in soundcard is default again.
cat /proc/asound/cards
0 [SB ]: HDA-Intel - HDA ATI SB
HDA ATI SB at 0xfe024000 irq 16
1 [HDMI ]: HDA-Intel - HDA ATI HDMI
HDA ATI HDMI at 0xfdffc000 irq 27
2 [CODEC ]: USB-Audio - USB Audio CODEC
Burr-Brown from TI USB Audio CODEC at usb-0000:00:12.1-3, full speed
I want to have usb-soundcard as default without disabling my HD built in soundcard. For example, when i am using specific apps i want both soundcards available for example mixxx.
Can anybody guide me to the right direction?
Last edited by zabrielza (2015-03-27 17:07:27)

V1del wrote:
You don't have to have to use every config file theoretically possible and your current setup is probably in such a mess that you are blocking yourself with conflicting configuration. Post the contents of all ALSA related configfiles you might have
/etc/asound.conf
~/.asoundrc (and other ones in your home directory)
In general on a one user standard system you only need an /etc/asound.conf and a /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf any other file is for user-specific configuration which you don't need on a one user system.
EDIT: If that what you posted up there is your current asound.conf, you are resetting your default card away from the usb again. Remove all other definitions except the ones pertaining to your usb card for now to see if you get it working then (and they should have unique names so you should use e.g. pcm.softvolhda-intel if you want softvol for your intel etc otherwise you overwrite previous definitions)
Personally I'd also suggest you switch to using pulseaudio, as it covers all your usecases with way less specific configuration necessary, you could remove all your ALSA config (except the modprobe one) and install pulseaudio-alsa and pavucontrol to control the correct devices. But that's just me, we can still get ALSA to work if you want to get ALSA to work.
I do not have other alsa-related configuration files. /etc/asound.conf and .asoundrc do not exist. In other thread about resetting/restoring alsa, i was told to remove all three files, /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf, /etc/asound.conf and .asoundrc . So i did. And then I created again /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf with the contents i wrote above. So, no, these contents are not in /etc/asound.conf. but in /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf .
Oh, I prefer to work with alsa for now. As I told before there are educational reasons for that too
Last edited by zabrielza (2015-03-26 09:35:44)

[SOLVED] No sound through usb soundcard in Google Chromium

Hi there,
Before switching to Arch I had used my external usb soundcard in Ubuntu and Kubuntu which worked almost flawlessly except for no sound through Google Chromium in Kubuntu. I thought this may have been isolated when switching KDE on Arch but I'm stilling having the same problem. All audio works through the external soundcard except for Chromium.
Does anyone know how I can change sound preferences in Chromium or other way to solve this problem?
Thanks,
Last edited by bennylb0 (2010-06-02 06:04:14)

Not sure exactly what I did but I fiddled with the default soundcard configuration and now it works.

Firefox audio stops working or crashes if I unplug my USB soundcard

Hi, I use windows 7 64-bit and Firefox 10.0.2, and here is my problem that I have with all versions of Firefox that I've used. I currently use my M-Audio Fast Track USB audio interface as a soundcard on my PC. The audio on it works just fine with FF, but every time I mistakenly unplug it (even if its for less than a second), the audio stops completely on my flash videos (until I restart my browser with the usb soundcard back in), or sometimes hangs (forcing me to close it the hard way) after a while if the connection has been interupted with the soundcard, while all of my other applications remain to work without restarting them.
Is there anything that I can do that will fix this, or will there possibly be any fixes to this in the near future?

I have the exact same problem and my setup is very similar to yours. I have an Hd2900XT and ASUS M2R32-MVP board aswell. It must be some kind of issue with the motherboard i think. Could someone please look into this?
EDIT:
If you disable the onboard soundcard via the BIOS, the problem sto
ps.
Simple as that.Message Edited by paechan on 0-04-20070:04 AM

ITunes doesn't play through USB Soundcard

Hi, I am using a USB soundcard because the headphone jack on my laptop is really scratchy. However, playback goes through my built-in soundcard and then to the speakers, rather than through my USB soundcard into my headphones.
I've checked all system settings for the soundcard, and everything points at the USB soundcard even though iTunes is the only program that plays through the built-in soundcard.

That's kind of you to say so, Kim. Glad you got things sorted out.

No sound through usb soundcard

Hi there,
I am using KDE desktop and an external USB soundcard. Audio works through every program using the external USB card except for Chromium. There is one exception audio does work through headphones on chromium so I guess that cancels out flash.
I have read brebs threads regarding similar scenarios but from what I can find there are none specific to this problem.
I had the same problem when using Kubuntu Karmic on my laptop using the same USB soundcard and never solved it.
Is there anyway I can configure my system to direct audio from Chromium to my USB soundcard?

I'm not sure whether this helps but cat /proc/asound/cards list the following:-
~]$ cat /proc/asound/cards
0 [Intel ]: HDA-Intel - HDA Intel
HDA Intel at 0xfbffc000 irq 28
1 [default ]: USB-Audio - USB Audio CODEC
Burr-Brown from TI USB Audio CODEC at usb-0000:00:1d.0-2, full s
Thanks,

Lirc Remote + USB Soundcard

Hello,
I want use my old medion remote control to control my mpd server. The audio output is a philips stereo with "usb-pc-link", so it's a stereo with build in usb soundcard.
I got it all worked but just until I shutdown my stereo. After I shutdown my stereo the remote control doesn't work anymore. Then I have to restart the system, or restart the lirc deamoen two times (yes two times) until it works again.
I don't really know how to approach this problem.
A hint is, that I can control the media player on Windows with the remote of the stereo, so the phillips "usb-pc-link" is not just a soundcard, it's also an input device. I think this cause the trouble.
The remote control is connected with Lirc.
/etc/conf.d/lircd.conf
LIRC_DEVICE="/dev/lircd"
LIRC_DRIVER="default"
LIRC_EXTRAOPTS=""
LIRC_CONFIGFILE="/etc/lirc/lircd.conf"
/etc/lirc/hardware.conf
# /etc/lirc/hardware.conf
REMOTE="None"
REMOTE_MODULES=""
REMOTE_DRIVER=""
REMOTE_DEVICE="phys=""
REMOTE_SOCKET=""
REMOTE_LIRCD_CONF=""
REMOTE_LIRCD_ARGS=""
TRANSMITTER="None"
TRANSMITTER_MODULES=""
TRANSMITTER_DRIVER=""
TRANSMITTER_DEVICE=""
TRANSMITTER_SOCKET=""
TRANSMITTER_LIRCD_CONF=""
TRANSMITTER_LIRCD_ARGS=""
START_LIRCD="false"
LOAD_MODULES="false"
LIRCMD_CONF=""
FORCE_NONINTERACTIVE_RECONFIGURATION="false"
START_LIRCMD=""
/etc/udev/rules.d/9-irremote.rules
SUBSYSTEM=="input",ATTRS{idVendor}=="0bc7",ATTR{dev}=="13:67",SYMLINK="input/irremote0"
SUBSYSTEM=="input",ATTRS{idVendor}=="0bc7",ATTR{dev}=="13:68",SYMLINK="input/irremote1"
/etc/systemd/system/irexec.service
[Unit]
Description=irexec deamon
Requires=lirc.service
After=lirc.service
[Service]
#Type=oneshot
RemainAfterExit=yes
ExecStart=/usr/bin/irexec --daemon /root/.lircrc
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
/etc/systemd/system/lirc.service
[Unit]
Description=Linux Infrared Remote Control
[Service]
EnvironmentFile=/etc/conf.d/lircd.conf
ExecStartPre=/usr/bin/ln -sf /run/lirc/lircd /dev/lircd
ExecStart=/usr/bin/lircd --pidfile=/run/lirc/lircd.pid --driver=atilibusb
Type=forking
PIDFile=/run/lirc/lircd.pid
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
/etc/modprobe.d/remote_blacklist.conf
blacklist ati_remote
lsusb:
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 0471:0110 Philips (or NXP)
Bus 001 Device 007: ID 0bc7:0006 X10 Wireless Technology, Inc. Wireless Transceiver (ACPI-compliant)
If I start my stereo, dmesg:
[ 2461.686980] usb 1-1.3: new full-speed USB device number 13 using dwc_otg
[ 2461.799934] usb 1-1.3: New USB device found, idVendor=0471, idProduct=0110
[ 2461.799974] usb 1-1.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
[ 2461.799992] usb 1-1.3: Product: UAC3553B
[ 2461.800007] usb 1-1.3: Manufacturer: Philips
[ 2461.838915] usb_audio: Warning! Unlikely big volume range (=656), cval->res is probably wrong.
[ 2461.838952] usb_audio: [1] FU [PCM Playback Volume] ch = 2, val = -10496/0/16
[ 2461.881928] input: Philips UAC3553B as /devices/platform/bcm2708_usb/usb1/1-1/1-1.3/1-1.3:1.2/input/input3
[ 2461.883745] hid-generic 0003:0471:0110.0003: input,hidraw0: USB HID v1.00 Device [Philips UAC3553B] on usb-bcm2708_usb-1.3/input2
If I shutdown my stereo, dmesg:
[ 2302.290011] usb 1-1.3: New USB device found, idVendor=0471, idProduct=0110
[ 2302.290049] usb 1-1.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
[ 2302.290066] usb 1-1.3: Product: UAC3553B
[ 2302.290081] usb 1-1.3: Manufacturer: Philips
[ 2302.332248] usb_audio: Warning! Unlikely big volume range (=656), cval->res is probably wrong.
[ 2302.332287] usb_audio: [1] FU [PCM Playback Volume] ch = 2, val = -10496/0/16
[ 2302.395786] input: Philips UAC3553B as /devices/platform/bcm2708_usb/usb1/1-1/1-1.3/1-1.3:1.2/input/input2
[ 2302.402574] hid-generic 0003:0471:0110.0002: input,hidraw0: USB HID v1.00 Device [Philips UAC3553B] on usb-bcm2708_usb-1.3/input2
[ 2302.713250] usb 1-1.3: USB disconnect, device number 11
After this the lirc deamon shows(systemctl status lirc):
systemd-coredump[398]: Process 173 (lircd) dumped core.
Connect my Remote, dmesg:
[ 2732.697063] usb 1-1.2.2: new low-speed USB device number 14 using dwc_otg
[ 2732.806250] usb 1-1.2.2: New USB device found, idVendor=0bc7, idProduct=0006
[ 2732.806288] usb 1-1.2.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
[ 2732.806307] usb 1-1.2.2: Product: USB Receiver
[ 2732.806322] usb 1-1.2.2: Manufacturer: X10 Wireless Technology Inc
/var/log/lircd
lircd: removed client
lircd: caught signal
lircd: lircd(atilibusb) ready, using /var/run/lirc/lircd
lircd: accepted new client on /var/run/lirc/lircd
Thanks

I have now created an udev rule, that restart the lirc daemon, if the stereo is disconnected, but this is not a real solution...
Have anyone an idea how I can avoid the lirc daemon to crash, while my stereo is disconnecting??
some more infos:
udevadm info -a -n /dev/input/by-path/platform-bcm2708_usb-usb-0:1.3:1.2-event
looking at device '/devices/platform/bcm2708_usb/usb1/1-1/1-1.3/1-1.3:1.2/input/input9/event1':
KERNEL=="event1"
SUBSYSTEM=="input"
DRIVER==""
looking at parent device '/devices/platform/bcm2708_usb/usb1/1-1/1-1.3/1-1.3:1.2/input/input9':
KERNELS=="input9"
SUBSYSTEMS=="input"
DRIVERS==""
ATTRS{name}=="Philips UAC3553B"
ATTRS{phys}=="usb-bcm2708_usb-1.3/input2"
ATTRS{uniq}==""
ATTRS{properties}=="0"
looking at parent device '/devices/platform/bcm2708_usb/usb1/1-1/1-1.3/1-1.3:1.2':
KERNELS=="1-1.3:1.2"
SUBSYSTEMS=="usb"
DRIVERS=="usbhid"
ATTRS{bInterfaceClass}=="03"
ATTRS{bInterfaceSubClass}=="00"
ATTRS{bInterfaceProtocol}=="00"
ATTRS{bNumEndpoints}=="01"
ATTRS{supports_autosuspend}=="1"
ATTRS{bAlternateSetting}==" 0"
ATTRS{bInterfaceNumber}=="02"
looking at parent device '/devices/platform/bcm2708_usb/usb1/1-1/1-1.3':
KERNELS=="1-1.3"
SUBSYSTEMS=="usb"
DRIVERS=="usb"
ATTRS{bDeviceSubClass}=="00"
ATTRS{bDeviceProtocol}=="00"
ATTRS{devpath}=="1.3"
ATTRS{idVendor}=="0471"
ATTRS{speed}=="12"
ATTRS{bNumInterfaces}==" 3"
ATTRS{bConfigurationValue}=="1"
ATTRS{bMaxPacketSize0}=="8"
ATTRS{busnum}=="1"
ATTRS{devnum}=="26"
ATTRS{configuration}=="F5 2002/06/12 11:01"
ATTRS{bMaxPower}=="100mA"
ATTRS{authorized}=="1"
ATTRS{bmAttributes}=="80"
ATTRS{bNumConfigurations}=="1"
ATTRS{maxchild}=="0"
ATTRS{bcdDevice}=="0402"
ATTRS{avoid_reset_quirk}=="0"
ATTRS{quirks}=="0x0"
ATTRS{version}==" 1.10"
ATTRS{urbnum}=="1700335"
ATTRS{ltm_capable}=="no"
ATTRS{manufacturer}=="Philips"
ATTRS{removable}=="removable"
ATTRS{idProduct}=="0110"
ATTRS{bDeviceClass}=="00"
ATTRS{product}=="UAC3553B"
looking at parent device '/devices/platform/bcm2708_usb/usb1/1-1':
KERNELS=="1-1"
SUBSYSTEMS=="usb"
DRIVERS=="usb"
ATTRS{bDeviceSubClass}=="00"
ATTRS{bDeviceProtocol}=="02"
ATTRS{devpath}=="1"
ATTRS{idVendor}=="0424"
ATTRS{speed}=="480"
ATTRS{bNumInterfaces}==" 1"
ATTRS{bConfigurationValue}=="1"
ATTRS{bMaxPacketSize0}=="64"
ATTRS{busnum}=="1"
ATTRS{devnum}=="2"
ATTRS{configuration}==""
ATTRS{bMaxPower}=="2mA"
ATTRS{authorized}=="1"
ATTRS{bmAttributes}=="e0"
ATTRS{bNumConfigurations}=="1"
ATTRS{maxchild}=="3"
ATTRS{bcdDevice}=="0200"
ATTRS{avoid_reset_quirk}=="0"
ATTRS{quirks}=="0x0"
ATTRS{version}==" 2.00"
ATTRS{urbnum}=="354"
ATTRS{ltm_capable}=="no"
ATTRS{removable}=="unknown"
ATTRS{idProduct}=="9512"
ATTRS{bDeviceClass}=="09"
looking at parent device '/devices/platform/bcm2708_usb/usb1':
KERNELS=="usb1"
SUBSYSTEMS=="usb"
DRIVERS=="usb"
ATTRS{bDeviceSubClass}=="00"
ATTRS{bDeviceProtocol}=="01"
ATTRS{devpath}=="0"
ATTRS{idVendor}=="1d6b"
ATTRS{speed}=="480"
ATTRS{bNumInterfaces}==" 1"
ATTRS{bConfigurationValue}=="1"
ATTRS{bMaxPacketSize0}=="64"
ATTRS{authorized_default}=="1"
ATTRS{busnum}=="1"
ATTRS{devnum}=="1"
ATTRS{configuration}==""
ATTRS{bMaxPower}=="0mA"
ATTRS{authorized}=="1"
ATTRS{bmAttributes}=="e0"
ATTRS{bNumConfigurations}=="1"
ATTRS{maxchild}=="1"
ATTRS{bcdDevice}=="0310"
ATTRS{avoid_reset_quirk}=="0"
ATTRS{quirks}=="0x0"
ATTRS{serial}=="bcm2708_usb"
ATTRS{version}==" 2.00"
ATTRS{urbnum}=="26"
ATTRS{ltm_capable}=="no"
ATTRS{removable}=="unknown"
ATTRS{idProduct}=="0002"
ATTRS{bDeviceClass}=="09"
ATTRS{product}=="DWC OTG Controller"
looking at parent device '/devices/platform/bcm2708_usb':
KERNELS=="bcm2708_usb"
SUBSYSTEMS=="platform"
DRIVERS=="dwc_otg"
ATTRS{hnp}=="HstNegScs = 0x0"
ATTRS{srp}=="SesReqScs = 0x1"
ATTRS{regvalue}=="invalid offset"
ATTRS{hsic_connect}=="HSIC Connect = 0x1"
ATTRS{guid}=="GUID = 0x2708a000"
ATTRS{mode}=="Mode = 0x1"
ATTRS{srpcapable}=="SRPCapable = 0x1"
ATTRS{regdump}=="Register Dump"
ATTRS{gpvndctl}=="GPVNDCTL = 0x00000000"
ATTRS{ggpio}=="GGPIO = 0x00000000"
ATTRS{hprt0}=="HPRT0 = 0x00001005"
ATTRS{wr_reg_test}=="Time to write GNPTXFSIZ reg 10000000 times: 670 msecs (67 jiffies)"
ATTRS{hcd_frrem}=="HCD Dump Frame Remaining"
ATTRS{mode_ch_tim_en}=="Mode Change Ready Timer Enable = 0x0"
ATTRS{gnptxfsiz}=="GNPTXFSIZ = 0x01000306"
ATTRS{remote_wakeup}=="Remote Wakeup Sig = 0 Enabled = 0 LPM Remote Wakeup = 0"
ATTRS{busconnected}=="Bus Connected = 0x1"
ATTRS{hcddump}=="HCD Dump"
ATTRS{gotgctl}=="GOTGCTL = 0x001c0001"
ATTRS{spramdump}=="SPRAM Dump"
ATTRS{grxfsiz}=="GRXFSIZ = 0x00000306"
ATTRS{gsnpsid}=="GSNPSID = 0x4f54280a"
ATTRS{gusbcfg}=="GUSBCFG = 0x00001700"
ATTRS{hptxfsiz}=="HPTXFSIZ = 0x02000406"
ATTRS{devspeed}=="Device Speed = 0x0"
ATTRS{fr_interval}=="Frame Interval = 0x1d4c"
ATTRS{rem_wakeup_pwrdn}==""
ATTRS{bussuspend}=="Bus Suspend = 0x0"
ATTRS{buspower}=="Bus Power = 0x1"
ATTRS{hnpcapable}=="HNPCapable = 0x1"
ATTRS{rd_reg_test}=="Time to read GNPTXFSIZ reg 10000000 times: 1190 msecs (119 jiffies)"
ATTRS{enumspeed}=="Device Enumeration Speed = 0x1"
ATTRS{inv_sel_hsic}=="Invert Select HSIC = 0x0"
ATTRS{regoffset}=="0xffffffff"
looking at parent device '/devices/platform':
KERNELS=="platform"
SUBSYSTEMS==""
DRIVERS==""

Sound Problems with USB Soundcard

Hi,
i have some problems with my Terratek USB Soundcard. I use it for Teamspeak 3 and Skype. After a while the sound is going verry crappy and robotic. After that, i have to close all apps wich are using this soundcard and then everythings ok for the next aprox 20 minutes.
Two friends have the same problem with a Hama USB Soundcard. I think this is a Snow Leo problem.
Would be nice to have a solution...
I tested on my MacMini and my Macbook Pro.
Greetings

This Card. http://www.terratec.net/de/produkte/AureonDual_USB9841.html
And yes, the Midi Util shows the card.

USB Soundcards and the unibodies

hi,
i have a problem with my dj usb soundcard "audio 8 dj".
when i plug in the card, the sound crackles and is distorted.
restarting the macbook resolves the problem, but that is not situation for livegigs or something.
i read into other forums that it is no special problem of that soundcard or sounddriver. other people had the same problem with other usbsoundcards on the macbook alu. the soundcard works fine on every other mbp or mb.
some hardware or driverconfiguration of the new macbooks (alu) must be the problem.
any ideas or updates?

I've never had a Nokia that would connect successfully via cable to a Mac but things have gotten better recently...
Card Readers:
As petrib points out, most memory cards nowadays are recognised by Macs as 'Mass Storage Devices'. This means that no proprietary drivers are needed. Pop the card out of your phone & stick it in one of those card readers. Plug the reader into the mac & it'll show up on your desktop as a drive. This is by far the easiest way to load music onto your phone.
You can pick up tiny, very cheap card readers all over ebay. My reader does say it accepts miniSD but I've found it still needs the card adapter to make the miniSD into a normal size SD to work.
Bluetooth:
Obviously the other godsend for mac-Nokia users has been bluetooth. Great for syncing but slow for music etc. Also all files received are saved to your phone first & then to your card meaning you cant fill your new 2gb miniSD with one drag & drop from your music library
Networking:
Apparently the E61 supports connection to your home wireless net by VPN. Have yet to try this out but sounds neat.

Alternative USB Keyboard - Recommendations?

Don't like these aluminium keyboards, and looking for a good USB one to use instead.
Something with substantial keys and a good positive action, like these
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/4q00/g4cube_cd/images/keyboard-big.jpg
The two requirements are
a) must have a USB in, rather than a permanently-attached cable
b) must have a USB out, for a wired mouse
Any recommendations?

Hi Gordon
Have a look at > http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/accessories/Keyboards
Dennis

Mountain Lion compatible Serial-to-USB adaptor recommendation

Can someone recommend a Serial-to-USB adaptor that is compatible with OS X Mountain Lion.
Thank you in advance,
DKG

VikingOSX wrote:
Here is a link to a USB to DB9 solution.
I have used that one and it works.
Here is a similar model that I still use and it works as well:
http://www.tripplite.com/en/products/model.cfm?txtSeriesID=782&txtModelID=3915
That one has two RS-422 ports.
Their drivers for Mountain Lion work perfectly, as do the earlier ones for PPC Macs. I have used it with every OS X version since Jaguar.
It does install a kernel extension but as far as I have been able to tell, it is well-behaved and I have experienced no conflicts. The .kext is not active unless the adapter is actually connected.
Follow the driver installation instructions carefully - the adapter must be disconnected while installing the driver or the installer package will crash. The package installer dialog tells you this.
Here is a summary from my notes:
Disconnect the Keyspan adapter from your Mac. If you do not disconnect the adapter, the installer package will crash.
Open the downloaded zipfile to expand the keyspanUSAdrvr installer package.
Read the "Important Information", authenticate when necessary, and complete the installation. The Keyspan driver is a kernel extension necessary for the Keyspan adapter to work.
Connect the Keyspan adapter after the installer completes.
An alert may appear indicating that "new network interfaces were detected" and need to be configured. You may ignore this alert, and you may delete the three Keyspan network interfaces that will now appear in System Preferences > Network. OS X seems to think these are dialup modem drivers. They are not used for printing. The alert will not reappear.
A logout / login or reboot should be optional to ensure the driver is loaded. If in doubt, reboot.
With the adapter connected and its driver correctly installed, the kernel extension will now appear in System Information as KeyspanUSAdriver.
In Applications, locate and open Keyspan Serial Assistant. When the adapter has been connected its serial port names will appear in this window. Clicking the reveal triangle will show their names.
KeySerial1 is an alias to the first port on the first Keyspan adapter connected to your Mac. The names USA28XxxxxP1.1 and USA28XxxxxP2.2 will change if the adapter is connected to a different USB port. Connect your serial device to Port 1 on the adapter, and use KeySerial1 for the serial port name. Otherwise it will be necessary to change the name of your serial port every time you change which USB port the Keyspan is using.
Leave Keyspan Serial Assistant in your Applications folder since you may need it to refer to these names in the future.
To uninstall the Keyspan driver software, open Keyspan Serial Assistant, select "Uninstall USB Serial Extension" from the Settings menu, and follow the instructions. Administrator authentication is required to uninstall the driver. The extension will then be eradicated from your system. The only remaining files are the Keyspan Serial Assistant application, the installer package, and the downloaded zipfile. To completely delete everything drag all these files to the Trash.
Keyspan had previously labeled their OS X 10.8 driver a "beta" version, which worked fine. They since dropped the "beta" label. Hopefully this indicates they are interested in continued support. In any event I doubt any updates would be required for future OS X versions any time soon, since it is already a 64 bit driver.

USB mic recommendation?

I am simplifing my workstation and moving to a USB mic. What would you recommend?
Best.
Tom

I'd recommend foregoing the USB mic and get a USB audio interface... then you can use whatever mic you like. Really high quality mics? ... ain't gonna be USB. You really can't beat a Shure SM58 (you can... but it would be a matter of opinion.)
If you need to take your show "on the road", I would recommend one of the Zoom mics. I have the H1 and H2 (got the h2 first.) It can be configured as a USB audio interface/mic for your computer. It can be taken on location (without a computer) and used as a recorder. It can use other kinds of mics as the audio input... on location... which means if you have a fancy mic like the Shure, you can take it with you and use it on location just with the H1... awesome (you will need an XLR to 1/8in stereo adapter though.) It's great with lavalier mics. Zoom mics have an outstanding dynamic range (some might say it's too good — they can pick up *everything* – if you're not careful.)
Here are some examples [absolutely NO noise reduction used in any of them]:
This first clip is a recording of a folk guitar, outside, on a breezy day. I used a lavalier mic (with windscreen) clipped to the soundhole connected to the Zoom H1 and set the levels down low enough to cut the ambient noise.
http://sight-creations.com/audio/small_clip3.mov.mp3
... not very impressive by itself (compared to a Tascam PortaStudio 4-track cassette recorder I had in the early nineties... it's bloody amazing!)
and this is what it sounds like after post in Logic:
http://sight-creations.com/audio/small_clip4.mp3
You can really pull a lot of audio out of those lower levels because the recorder is exceptionally quiet (as far as I can tell – and i'm kind of old, so: some hearing loss — it's dead silent... but I can't find any data on the "floor" or the recorder [dead silent is at least -96dB]).
Here's what it can sound like. Again, I mic'd a steel string guitar out in my backyard with a lavalier mic clipped to the sound hole (mic inside the guitar -- you can't tell how windy it was.)
http://ftp.sight-creations.com/audio/improv_030612_03.mp3
If it weren't for my amateurish playing, it sounds as good as a professional studio recording.
If you don't need a fancy mic and all you *really* need is good noise reduction... invest in ScreenFlow. It has the BEST noise reduction of any software I have ever used (including Soundtrack Pro, Audicity, Logic, FCPX, you name it...) and you don't need to be editing video to use it. Just turn it on (default setting) and save! Listen to any of my later tutorials on youtube (channel: fxmah)... and realize I'm sitting 6 feet from a window air conditioner/heater that is ON all the time. You would never believe it. BTW - for those tutorials, I use a cheap GE headphone/boom mic combo (gaming headset?)... it's perfect for the job. Always in the right place and always out of the way. Headphone part is not all that great, but I like what I get from the mic.
HTH

Imac usb soundcard noise eliminated

i just want to share that i was having high pitched noise in my sound card on my late 2013 iMac with Logic and i was able to eliminate it by putting a ground adapter on the iMac power supply

Thanks for your help
I called the music store that i bought the card from and they recommended i look for the latest drivers. I found them, downloaded, installed, rebooted but the problem was still there. I tried headphones in the headphone socket of the card and i couldn't hear any noise which was a bit strange, as i would have expected some there too.
Anyway, i've decided to send the unit back and go for a more expensive item with balanced outputs. I hope that going to TRS balanced outs will improve over using RCA's. I'm thinking about a TC Konnekt 6 after reading great reviews and also i'm not using the firewire ports on my imac and i've already run out of usb's!

High quality mic on external usb-soundcard dosen't work with Adobe Connect. Why?

Hello
A friend of mine bought a quite good microphone and a good extrernal soundcard for recording podcasts. Everything works fine. But know she wants to use the microphone for Adobe Connect, because of the very good sound quality. Adobe Connect finds it an you can select it, but now singal comes into Adobe Connect. But it works with every other Adobe application. So why doesn't it work with Adobe Connect?
The soundcard is the Tascam US-122 Mk2. Normaly very uncomplicated ..
Thanks for any advice!
Alinja

I connect my bus-powered HDs (more than one) to the iMac all the time without any problems. I have found, though, that for me the FireWire enclosures work much better (faster and more stable) than the USB2 ones. I have had the USB2 drives freeze my computer once or twice when I connected the HD, but nothing like that has ever happened with the FireWire connections. (I switched the same disk from USB to a FireWire enclosure, so all other elements were kept constant in my experiments.)
One of my HD is in a MacAlly 2.5" enclosure that offers both FireWire and USB2. The other one is in some generic enclosure with only USB2. Both are bus-powered and both work fine.

[Req]Soundcard recommendation

Can someone recommend a good (cheap) soundcard with hardware mixing, or a website comparison. I'm aware of the Soundblaster Audigy 4, but its old and there are not many around on ebay.
I've got a P5K3 motherboard with an onboard Intel HDA chipset, but as soon as an audio application (eg xmms) uses the sound channel, jackd refuses to start for use with another audio app (zynaddsubfx), saying that the channel is in use. I've tried all the jack options (oss, alsa, hw0, hw1 etc) to no avail.

I may be off the mark here but if the alsa driver is dedicated to xmms jackd will never start regardless of what card you have. Start jackd from a terminal and you should see "failed to create alsa driver, hw0 in use". Try changing xmms to use jack driver. Soundcard wise I likw my maudio delta1010 but it's a little much unless you are multitrack recording (;

USB Soundcard Recommendations?

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